Mercantilism, Middle Eastern Empire and China’s National Oil Companies: Implications for U.S. Policy
Abstract
Many have contended that the pusuit of natural resources has fueled international conflict, and some have supposed that China’s growing hunger for fossil fuels is portending just such a conflict in the future, evendescribing the expansion of Chinese National Oil Companies into regions like Sudan and Darfur as a direct geopolitical challenge to the United States. This paper proposes an alternative explanation of the overseasexpansion of Chinese National Oil Companies, ultimately contending that market conditions, not politics, dictate the behavior of Chinese National Oil companies. In developing this argument, this paper outlines thedomestic and international market conditions that limit domestic expansion and encourage oversees expansion, the industrial organization of Chinese National Oil Companies, the bureaucratic structure of Chineseregulatory agencies, and the influence of the Chinese energy policy making aparatus. This paper concludes by proposing different policy measures that could be taken to highten cooperation on issues of energy and energy security between the United States and China.Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
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